Biotricity Expands Partnership with the University of Calgary on Wearable Monitors

October 13, 2016 — Biotricity Inc. announced recently that it will be expanding its existing research partnership with the University of Calgary. In order to develop and validate the next generation of medically relevant wearable monitors, the focus of the new partnership will be on areas beyond cardiac medicine, including fetal monitoring and sleep apnea.

Biotricity’s goal is to develop a series of clinically accurate devices that are applicable in both clinical and home-based settings. The initial focus of this expanded partnership will be to investigate using heart rate variability monitoring (HRVM) to optimize recovery after surgery and medical illness, and to develop solutions for the fetal monitoring and sleep apnea markets as well.

David Liepert, Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor at the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, anesthesiologist at AHS’ Rockyview General Hospital and lead investigator of the study added, “The Department of Anesthesia and Peri-Operative Medicine looks forward to expanding on the developmental heart rate variability monitoring work we have already completed with the Bioflux device, and working with Biotricity's consumer-based Biolife device as well.”

He explained, “HRVM’s ability to simultaneously monitor internal physiology and activities of daily living combined with Biotricity’s convenience and portability seems ideal for tracking return-to-function and allowing early and individualized intervention and optimization. Maternal/fetal monitoring has long-included HRVM, and exploring the impact of offering convenience and portability to that patient group as well as the sleep apnea population is an exciting opportunity. We look forward to capitalizing on [Biotricity CEO and founder] Waqaas Al-Siddiq's expertise in wearable biometric monitoring, connectivity and data processing and are also exploring the benefits of creating a relationship with the University of Calgary's Schulich School of Engineering which would be of utmost value to Alberta's budding Biomedical Engineers."

In other news, Biotricity is expecting a response from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to their 510(k) submission within the next few weeks.

Patients with no obstructed blood flow in the coronary arteries had higher levels of CXCL5 (blue) compared to patients with moderate levels (green) or lower levels (yellow) of CXCL5, who had increased severity of coronary obstructions (indicated by the arrows). Credit: Schisler lab